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Despite the day’s unlucky number, thirteen, the day started normally with me getting going without rushing. This is a work-from-home day, Monday and Friday, so I did not have to commute to work or get dressed early. I also could do laundry and cook dinner while listening to meetings. So the first two hours were meetings, getting cleaned up, and off in Air Volvo to see Susie.

The trip was uneventful but always seemed longer when passing through Beaverton. Jennifer is back this Monday and training a new person. Susie was just getting started on breakfast when I got there.

Susie feeds herself and can now lift a small cup and drink from it. But, today, her hand was not quite working for her. Jennifer thought Susie was tired from the weekend, two movies with me.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and Susie and Leta chatted for a while. After the call, she went back to eating. I could only stay about twenty minutes, so I was soon headed out with a kiss. Susie was sad to see me leave so soon, but it was a work day.

I drove Air Volvo directly home and made a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I spent the afternoon following along with the shoe company and recommending a few things, no crises for this Monday.

I listened to the status meeting while defrosting some beef for dinner. Dinner tonight is goulash beef from a recipe in a German cookbook Michael G’s parents gave me years ago–in English with American measuring. I added cut-up potatoes to the recipe.

I also made scones as a snack. I have a few aging boxes of holiday flavors, so I baked one of those, gingerbread. It has been a while since I have felt strong enough to make dinner and bake a treat. Excellent (and did the dishes and a load of laundry plus putting it away).

Corwin and I talked and agreed it was time for him to move out. He is now looking for a place to live. I will also donate some spare furniture (in the garage) if he needs that. It is a friendly process and not rushed.

I watched some of the news while eating the goulash. As it was BBC news, it had the usual focus on UK issues. Apparently, the strange Brexit Ireland and Northern Ireland agreement for Ireland being in the EU and Northern Ireland sort of in the EU is having problems. The cost of living in Northern Ireland includes some kind of EU taxes and is upsetting the folks there. It was all interesting, sort of.

The stock market continues to tank. There is a panic about a possible recession. I am ignoring this.

I finished the blog early tonight, so I can do some figure painting work. Likely I will just be getting more organized, but it is nice to get back to some familiar and happy items.

Also on familiar things, my friends, Brian and Gwen, are getting their Horror film festivals going this year here in Portland and Rhode Island. I am looking forward to the October H.P. Lovecraft Portland Film Festival. I have already been thinking of a 500-word story to write this year.

That is about it dear reader, thanks for following along!

Going backward, I went to bed a bit early, at 10:30ish. I was tired from the busy day. I was on the phone just before going to bed with David and Michelle Smith. We used the group watching feature of Disney+ to watch together the next episode of Obi-wan Kenobi (which I had to learn to spell). This episode is the classic good versus evil rescue mission that we love in Star Wars, and they get it right. It has movie-quality special effects and sound. This was the second time I have seen this episode, and like all good Star Wars stuff, it was good the second time. Recommended.

I was reading before this. I have finished A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan Book 2), a space opera story. I found it a bit hard to follow, and it jumped from one account to another with glee as if written on a trampoline. But, this feeling may be from my current recovery status and not the book, as I feel like life is a trampoline (sudden up and down and a loss of control, but strangely still fun). Thus I would still recommend for Space Opera lovers the Teixcalaan series. 

I have started Eric Stross’s newest Laundry Files book, Quantum of Nightmares. He has published two books centered on the Laundry with Quantum of Nightmares covering a continuation of the story of Imp’s friends and family in the UK ruled by the Lovecraft’s Dark Pharaoh in a sort of blending of Lovecraft-Delta Green-Douglas Adams. Eric mixes references to Cthulhu myths, concrete mathematics (a particular branch of mathematics based on computers), computer hacking, cryptography, and basic electronics in a very dark comedy–all topics that touch on things I enjoy. In the next book, Escape from Yokia Land, the author is finally returning to his previous main character and narrator, Bob, and my favorite of his characters. I am happy Eric Stross found his way back to Bob. The pages fly by when I read these.

Returning to the story, before this, I was at Cory’s house playing Dungeons and Dragons 5E. Cory is an old friend that has played games with us for over ten years. He is a retired sea captain and, as I met him, a retired Nike security person (physical security and not computer stuff). Cory lost his legs in battles with illness, so we play at his house to make it easier on him. We stopped playing during much of the Covid-19 lockdown.

In the game of D&D 5E, I am playing a drunken master monk, an all-combat character, with a style of play that would is more Jackie Chan than current over-the-top wire-fu shows. I don’t usually play combat characters, but monks, with all their mythical abilities in D&D, appeal to me.

No spoilers here, but I can say that at one moment, I had used up all my cool monk powers and had only a few hit points left. A D&D battle where you are titering on defeat is always the best. Thanks to our DM, Matt (or M@), for a great game and all the other players for making it work.

We also got to use the ballon model I made for the game. M@ will use it at the other games he hosts at his house. Excellent.

Before heading to Cory’s place (just across 26 just outside of Beaverton), I stopped by Burger King and ordered a burger meal. I had a salad for lunch and a quick breakfast, so I needed some protein and calories. I parked the car and ate it in the car before the game.

I came from Susie’s place, Humming Bird house.

Susie resides at:

Allegiance Senior Care
Adult Foster Care Home
9925 SW 82nd. Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: 503 246-4116

Susie and I had just enough time this Sunday afternoon (I was rushing all day) to watch a shorter movie. So I played An American in Paris (1 hour 54 minutes) instead of another Harry Potter Wizarding World movie (2 hours 14 minutes). This is a movie from the Golden Age of Movies, as they say. It is singing and dancing and, in this case, uses modern music (from the 1950s) based loosely on music by George Gershwin. The dancing is terrific, and the storyline is weak. It also, like a later film by Gene Kelly, SInging in the Rain, ends abruptly with a forced Hollywood happy ending, but as it is one of the films that define Hollywood’s happy endings, that is forgiven. Susie said, “it was wonderful.” I had to kiss and run once the movie stopped. I had to get to Cory’s in less than an hour.

Before getting to Susie’s place, I had lunch with Wayne and Anne Weld-Martin at Sherry’s off of 185th (not near Susie’s place). Unfortunately, I also forgot my Dungeons and Dragons book (and other items that remained left behind this time), so I had to leave lunch early to fly Air Volvo to the house, grab the books, and drive all the way back to Beaverton and to Susie’s place. It was crazy.

Lunch was after Wayne preached, and Anne did the prayers and pastor sections of the worship service. Dondrea and her daughter Zophia ran the soundboard and other items for an online experience. Dondrea was running back and force as she was also leading worship and working with our choir director and organist, Howard, to get the music right. Somehow it all came together and worked (even when Wayne switched out a hymn).

As I said, I had a salad, Sherry’s did not have the wontons for my Asian Salad, but it was still good. Wayne had breakfast, some of the first food he had had in days. Wayne has been unwell for most of the week. Wayne gave a more Baptist-styled sermon today, even tired, and it was well-received by the Methodists.

Before church, I dressed and got ready after sleeping in until 7ish. I slept better on Saturday night even after taking Saturday slow.

I slept in a bit this morning. I was up and moving about 7ish. I made liberal Fair Trade coffee and had a plain locally made bagel with chives and onion smear and capers from a jar. Now, I was feeling better and more like myself.

Using two laptops, I logged into work and looked at my personal stuff (on my Mac) and my work stuff (on my Windows machine from Nike). This has been my usual setup since the lockdown. Sometimes I would even put up a third screen and have the Bloomberg news running on it. Today just two screens.

After catching up with the news and work items, nothing really critical on either, I attend two back-to-back Zoom status meetings. Yes, even on a Saturday–the data conversions for the project are going on 7/24, so I keep an eye on it. So far, I am not needed; I am usually required for emergencies and disasters. So far, everything is running to plan or better. Boring is good.

My plans are to take Saturday slow and easily. I would love to head to Portland and see the DD-1001, USS Michael Monsoor, that is visiting Portland, but I can’t risk the flu, cold, or Covid variants that are out there now. The ship is a unique destroyer that was an attempt to build the cruiser of the future–it was not a complete success, but I am a fan. Moving to why I can’t head to the Rose Festival, I would likely experience a severe case if I were to get ill. Chemotherapy has messed with my immune system, and I am still generally weak. Worse, Susie would not be able to have me visit for an extended time. That would be unacceptable, so I will stay away from crowds still.

I head to see Susie after dressing at about 10ish, not in a hurry as this is the weekend. The nurse, Vanessa, has Susie up and ready, knowing I would likely appear in the morning for a movie. Susie and I use the activity room, and I set up the next Harry Potter movie. This new movie is from the following series: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Before we started the movie, we called Leta, Susie’s mother. They had a short chat.

I have not seen this movie in a few years, and once again, it is very dark, and Susie, I can see, is unhappy with the black screen. It is pretty dark for me too. However, I like the acting and the muggle baker in the story. He is the most believable character, and we get to see the Wizarding World through his discoveries.

The amount of computer graphics, CG, is a bit much, but they have retained the feel of the last Harry Potter movies. Magic casting is more visceral, and the results are smoky. The goblins and house elves are much more American and gangster-like. A nice touch. I also like the American piano music playing when Jacob Kowalski, the muggle baker, is the focus. Generally, I like the movie, but it is a departure from the previous film and introduces so many characters that it seems like a directory, not a story. Recommended with reservation.

At first, Susie was not too excited to do this movie but seemed very happy to have seen it again. I am unsure how much she remembers of it as we saw it when Susie started having memory issues. But I think she is pretty satisfied with it today.

Vanessa put Susie back in her wheelchair. Susie is in a recliner when watching the movie to be more comfortable. Vanessa got Susie her lunch.

I left Susie with a kiss. She was sad to have me go, but I have chores, and sitting for hours is nothing I need to do more of. So Susie put on a brave face and said, “I will be fine.”

I drove home. Next door, for $585,000, is for sale now. I expected it to go up for sale, but seeing the for-sale sign go up is always a shock.

I went inside and made bratwursts for a late lunch. I bake them in the oven as that is easy. I found a can of baked beans to go with it. I added some of the bacon we had frozen to the beans. It was good. I left half of it for Corwin, who was back at about 3:30.

I folded the laundry and put it away. I also unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. Lastly, I also started clearing off some items on my work table. I want to start painting figures, which needs a much more organized workspace.

I finished the ballon model, so I am putting away the rigging and various supplies I bought for that project. That should give me much of my space back. I am also putting away the robot parts until I return to that project.

I visited the realtor next door and told him, Stan, to contact me with anything I could help with. I want my neighbors to get a reasonable price as they have only had it for a year and will likely barely break even.

I read and rested a bit. I get going again and drive to the local Ace Hardware and get some potting soil, traps for ants, and some yellow jacket traps (for the summer, which will come someday). I next stopped by Rainy Day Games and got some paint; I used up my bottles of Leather Brown and Desert Yellow paints. I also saw a new edgy role-playing game, MOTHERSHIP, and bought the module, A Pound of Flesh. I will see if this is anything I am interested in. I often buy an adventure of a SciFi RPG before I buy the rules to see if I like the play material (rules are less telling). I chat with the staff–we are all waiting for Covid to stop so we can play again at the store. Someday! I saw a few tempting games but resisted everything except the $15 paper book. I got off cheap today!

When I return to the house, I order some sauces and other items from Caputos.com that we use for North African flavors. If you can find Les Moulins Mahjoub, Tibar Sauce, it is recommended. I have to order it online.

I then made tacos for dinner, using the ground beef in the freezer. After that, I started to watch the new version of Dune again, but it is long, and I have to write this blog and get more done in the house.

The morning came too soon at 6:15, and thus I stayed in bed until 7ish. I was tired and fought fatigue all day. This is a work-from-home day; Nike has employees work three days a week in the office–Monday and Friday are working from home days. Thus, not using the video camera in my first meetings, I was dressed later.

The first status meetings of the day are at 8 and 8:30. I do laundry, two loads in the morning, and get showered and dressed mid-morning. I have only granola bars for breakfast and have two with coffee. This gains me a sugar crash late morning, not improving my day.

I slip out between meetings to Safeway and buy five bags of necessaries, all food. Safeway was not busy, but few people wear masks now, and they have DIY checking meaning that I waited for three people ahead of me to be checked out the usual way. Safeway used to ensure that you never waited, but now they are trying to force you into the DIY process. I am not doing DIY checking for five bags of groceries!

I regret this whole process and will likely return to online grocery purchases and home delivery. The car loading and loading would have been avoided if I used the online. Next time!

Returning to online, I follow along at work, there is a lot of work this weekend and I am on call. I help with a few crises of the moment, and so far, I am not needed over the weekend. I bought a salad and Pacific-style clam chowder while grocery shopping and have them for lunch.

I end my day at about noon and board Air Volvo after collecting some roses for Susie. I am surprised to find my Japanese roses looking trampled and other rose bushes to be a bit beat-up. The rain was so intense last night that some canes are broken! I cut some of the breakages away.

Susie is happy to see me at noonish after arriving in Air Volvo without incident. I put the laptop in the activity room and collect Susie for a video visit with her doctor. We start watching music videos after waiting more than an hour for the call to start. They called and let me know they are running behind.

We call Leta, Susie’s mother, while we are waiting. Susie and Leta chat for a while.

Even after I checked everything, we still had a sound issue when our doctor finally started the call and that took me a minute to fix. Doc was happy to see Susie and me. Susie had a mic that also controlled the sound and once accidentally started playing music in the middle of the meeting. Doc began to dance while I rushed to stop it. Funny!

Even though it is Susie’s appointment, the doc asks me about my health. Next, we talk about my XC60 Volvo as he needs a new car soon and was curious about what I was driving now. We often talked with our doc about trips we take and how to manage our life and investments. I think I give as much advice on that as I get.

Doc will arrange for some Home Health to see if we can improve Susie’s transfers. It would be great if she could get into the car. He is also retiring and we will need to find a new primary care physician. We wished him well and we agree on how much fun it has been over these years. We will miss him!

After the video conference, Susie had lunch, some soup, and a glass of milk. I hung out while she ate. Jennifer then set-up a comfy chair for Susie in activity room and moved Susie to the chair.

I also open the box that Leta, Susan’s mother sent her. A hummingbird wind spinner and night glow light.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was the next movie we planned. I put up the big screen and we watched the film together, more than two hours long. I was now sleepy, but this is not the kind of movie you sleep through! I have seen this a few times and always liked it. The movie, again like Part 1, is better than the book, I think. However, the film seems better edited.

After I finished the movie, Susie had Vanessa as a nurse as Jennifer was on a break over the weekend, Susie was moved back to the wheelchair and wheeled to the dining table to join all the other residents in dinner. I said good night, got a kiss from Susie, and took Air Volvo back to the Volvo Cave.

I called Corwin and we agreed on making dinner. We had gnocchi with mushrooms and Italian sausage (from the freezer) in the sauce from a jar. Corwin had cleaned the kitchen before I got home and I did most of the cooking.

I tried to eat and watch a show on Netflicks, but now I was approaching exhaustion and took instead took a nap. I got up about 9:30ish to write the blog and take my last pills. I am still tired.

 

I am starting a bit late. I took Corwin to Sherry’s, and I had pie and decaf coffee with ice cream. I just wanted pie. I am running late with today’s blog. I also had to write yesterday’s blog today, so I am writing a lot today.

Going forward (but going backward is often more fun), I started the morning with my alarm waking me at 6:15. I woke at 5ish and went back to bed after proving hydration. I closed my eyes for just a second, and it was 6:40. Oops.

Knowing how the day was going, I popped out to the kitchen and made coffee. I have changed the liberal coffee, Fair Trade Brand, to their kinder and gentler Organic Mind, Body & Soul, which I like for two reasons. 1) It is a lighter roast, and 2) The name does not include the Oxford Comma. Yes, less bitter and less comma–perfect for a liberal like me.

I rushed the morning and had some granola bars to go with my coffee. I have to get more bagels and fruit–I have not found time to fit in shopping this week. Shower and dressing were all rushed, and I managed to grab my Nike laptop and charger, jump into Air Volov, and arrive at the shoe company office at 8 and make my first meeting. And the next and more email, text, and Slack messages until 10ish.

Then I slipped out to see Susie. Again, I am running late, but I have no meetings until lunch–A lunch meeting with Scott–so I could stay a bit longer. I managed to get to Hummingbird House without incident. I did pass the motorcycle cop with his radar gun out that I have seen every day I travel to see Susie from work. I believe they are giving out many speeding tickets near Murry Road as I see them with their lights on, usually at least once. You are warned!

Susie was finishing her breakfast when I got there. She drank milk and seemed to eat about 1/3 or more of her foo–not bad for her. We called her mother, and they chatted for a while. It was cold out, so we stayed inside. Jennifer helped Susie get into her recliner, and I stayed for another twenty minutes. I then headed to a Chinese place to have lunch with my colleague and friend Scott.

We chatted about life and a new project we are thinking about. It was a pleasant lunch, and we are starting to plan some work. Exciting.

I returned to the office, and Gary was there talking to my boss Brad–I was happy to see him. I don’t think I have seen Gary in a few years–I am his hiring manager. We were glad to see each other. I hired Gary telling him he would never be bored and that so far has been true (both good and bad, but I believe primarily good).

I later met with Subha, also one of my hires, and we chatted about work things. It was also good to see her.

I headed out after a few more updates on Slack messages. I had to explain some of our plans for data conversions now and in the future. Folks were happy to see that I replied and was back in the saddle. I received some very kind comments.

I arrived at the Volvo Cave without incident or raising crime rates in Beaverton by using my phone. I started dinner while listening to the last status meeting today. I made Chicken Cordon Blue with corn and mashed potatoes. The chicken and corn products were from the freezer. I found I had no milk to make instant potatoes. I took the slightly expired powdered milk(I only keep some in the pantry in case of a disaster–at least we can mix up some mix), washed out a two-quart milk container from the recycling, mixed up some milk, and then made instant potatoes. Yes burning through a lot of pantry and frozen items!

I wrote the blog for yesterday while I cooked dinner. I made enough for two. Corwin enjoyed it. It was a bit plain, but still not bad.

I then read for a bit. Next, was the Theology Pub Zoom meeting at 7PM. This is a monthly meeting, before Covid-19 it was at a bar, where we discuss and try to understand Theology. Today’s topic was Redemption. Which is a word we mostly associate now with returning cans. But, it does have importance to theology. We talked about how Jesus has redeemed us, but there may be a price for this. We need to live a good life to be fully redeemed. Some of us are uncomfortable with this idea and thought the idea that there is a price is not Biblical. We also discussed that Redemption seems to be missing from the more extreme beliefs. Folks in the extreme groups focus on end-times and punishment and not redemption which seems more aligned to Jesus and later apostles’ writing. Redemption, without price, appears to be missing in political discussions.

Also, I described my experiences of the last six months and how to me it seemed more like a journey, not one I would have picked. I admitted that it was not faith but my trying to just get to the next day that got me through it. I knew people were pulling for me (and praying for me) and I would not let them down. I would get Susie and myself to the next day. It was very hard to talk about.

We Zoom’d for about an hour. I then took Corwin to Sherry’s to get pie and more food for Corwin. This takes me to now.

I took some photos of my roses today; please enjoy the following.

This is an unknown English rose I planted years ago near the deck. It could be Mary Rose, but I am not sure. You can see that something has been eatting the leaves. Growl.

The new Wedgewood climbers are almost ready to bloom! They grow 10′ tall! The leaves are nearly perfect–no pests here!

The stressed-out Cardinal Richelieu is trying to put on a once-a-year show.